


Never Broken

by orphan_account



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 22:03:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5350088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	1. Chapter 1

Your name is Lia Lloyd and your life sucks. You were left on the streets when you were 3 years old. The woman that found you owned the local orphanage. Later, as you got older, you bounced around foster homes, facing old rats who never gave you food and made you do housework. Around the time your seventh foster home sent you back to the orphanage, Carli came into the picture. You had never noticed Carli before. Sure, you'd seen her, walking around the streets of Mount Laurel, soccer ball tucked under her arm. She visited the orphanage on May 17th, 2013 and adopted you. You still don't know why. You're not the kindest person, you're not that athletic and you get B's in school. Mount Laurel High or MLH accepted you that fall as a freshman. You're still in love with your girlfriend, Emma (well, ex-girlfriend really). Your best friend Finn is the adopted daughter of "Aunt" Abby and "Aunty" Sarah. You wake up in your bed that morning to find Carli kneeling next to you. "Honey," She says quietly, not wanting to startle you. "I'm going outside and I win't be back till 3." You nodd. "Ok Mom." Shesmiles and you wait until you hear her car drive away to get out of bed. You slowly get up from bed and make your way down to the kitchen. You open up your iphone and call Emma. "Hi Lia." Emma says, automatically picking up her phone. "Hi Em. What's up?" You ask, yawing. "You're the one who called me." She has a point. "Not much. I gotta go." You hang up and head upstairs to get dressed. You stand, perched like a flamingo, in front of your closet which is wide open, spilling out an arrangement of dark colors. "Nothing to wear." You say loudly, talking to no one in particular. "Nothing to wear. Nothing to wear." You finally decide on a pair of ripped up black jeans, and your gray rolling stones tee shirt. You sweep your long brown hair out of your face and it falls gracefully down your back, revealing the stripes of bronze you dye it. You walk over to your mirror and tilt your head slightly. Studying. Your crystal blue eyes look more mature, maybe even to the point of scary or devilish. Your long arched fingers run through your hair, smoothing out the usual clumps. Your legs are long and lanky, but display strong muscles. Carli is 3 inches taller than you to be exact. You look like a teenager. Yes, your breasts are still quite small, but other than that, you're shaving twice a week. Not entirely ugly. But not beautiful. You think, grabbing your neon pink backpack and heading to Finn's house. Aunt Abby embraces you in a hug and opens the door wider to let you in. Finn is standing in the kitchen, her light brown hair dusting her shoulders. You're observant, if you haven't noticed that already. You need to be, since you're so quiet. After spending some hours hanging out at Finn's you decide to go home and clean. Carli gives you chores to do each week. You pull out your list from under the fruit bowl. -Clean your room. -Sort through the Attic boxes. You already clean your room everyday so you decide to skip to the attic. You climb up the old, rickety ladder and inhale a large amount of dust. Coughing, you haul yourself up and look around. You've only been up here once, when Carli was to scared to put her cockroach traps up. Boxes line the walls, not seeming to have any labels to define them. You decide to start on the wall which is filled with Carli's soccer things. Old high school medals and trophies crowd one box, which you accidentally send tumbling to the ground. You sift through the remnants, making sure none were broken, and come across a pile of picture hiding at the bottom. You lift them up and lean back on the wall, looking through them. Most are with Carli's teammates. You recognize almost all of them. Abby and Alex crowd some, but the majority are filled with a dark haired woman. She looks a little older than Carli, but they both have wide, toothy smiles, lighting up their faces. You hear Carli's car enter the garage and you grab the closest picture of the woman and head downstairs to meet her. "Hi Mom." You say, leaning into hug her. "Hey Lia. How was your day?" 'Pretty good." You respond, holding out the picture so she can see. "Who's this?" Carli's expression flutters from a minute, displaying something you've never seen before. Regret, guilt, anger and sadness all mixed together. "Where'd you get that?" She suddenly hisses, her voice full of loathing. "I.. I.. just found it in the attic.." You say, backing up from your mother. Her expression clears and she looks at you, panicked, backed up into the corner shaking. "Oh my god. I am so sorry Lia. She's just an old friend of mine." Carli says. You're still shocked from Carli's reaction but you shake it off and help her unload groceries while thinking. Thinking. Who is this mysterious woman?


	2. Chapter 2

The next day before you have to MLH, you quickly change and rush to Abby's with the picture, leaving Carli with a note.

Went to school early to study.

I love you.

You bang on their brown painted door. No answer. You repeatedly bang until the door is opened by an irritated looking Finn.

"Who the hell is- oh, it's you." She says, looking down at you.

"Is Abby awake?" You asked, scooching past her to go inside.

"Yeah. Kitchen." Finn gestures to the kitchen.

"Abby," You say as you walk in, holding out the picture.

"What is it, kid?" She asks, mid yawn.

"Who's that?" You point to the woman.

Abby studies the picture for a minute then looks up at you. "Never seen her before."

You know she's lying. "You know her."

Abby stares at you. You dig your hand into your large coat pocket for a minute, before pulling out another picture. This one was of Carli, Abby, and the woman.

Abby keeps on staring at you, then at the picture.

"She's an old friend." You roll your eyes.

"Fine, I'll call in for you today." Abby says.

You light up. "But only-" Abby says again. "If you agree to go on a walk with me and not interrupt too much." You consider it for a minute. "Will you tell Carli?" You ask, squinting at her.

"Nope."

"Deal." You say, shaking hands with her.

"What about me?" Finn asks, dumping her coffee mug in the sink.

"You, are not skipping school today." Abby says sternly, throwing her bag at Finn and sending her out the door.

"You ready?" Abby asks 10 minutes later.   
You nod and you head out the door.

Abby and you walk along the bank of a river, your heads bent from the heavy wind.

"Her name's Hope, by the way." Abby says finally.

"The woman?" You ask, looking up at her.

"Don't interrupt."

Oops.

"I knew her. I mean, I know her. We were- are kind of still- best friends. Hope, your mom and I. You're braver than me, you know." Abby says, running her hand through her short hair.

"How?"

"You know who you are, what you want."

"I do? And you don't?"

She doesn't answer, but stares at the large ships, leaving ripples in the water as they take out to sea.

"Your past is what causes pain. It helps you learn. It helps you love stronger. Why are you running from that?" You ask, not breaking your gaze.

Abby looks at you. "Who's says I'm running from anything?"  
You glance up at her. "I do. So who is she?"

"Listen up little dude.This is a long and complicated story."

You nod. "Go on."

"Brian was Carli's first love. She met him in high school and they dated up until 4 years ago. Brian proposed and they got married but soon after, he dumped her for another girl. Carli was heartbroken. Hope and Carli had met on the U-17 soccer team. They had started off by hating each other. They were so different. Do you know what happened in 2007?"

You nod. Carli's mentioned it.

"Not to go into detail, Hope was pretty much exiled from the team and ignored, but Carli stood by her side and stuck up for her. After that they were best friends. Unseparable. Around the spring of 2011, Carli and Hope came out to the team that they were dating. They were like the team's first and cutest couple. Everyone loved them. But Hope drank. She was never good at coming up with solutions to her problems, so she drank. One night, Hope drank so much, she and Carli got into a huge fight and both went home with broken hearts. I don't think they've talked since."

You and Abby don't say anything. Instead, you stare out at the horizon, out at the sun gently rising against the shimmery water of the lake.

"What was the fight about?" You ask finally.

Abby shakes her head. "I don't know. Only Hope and Carli know but they've never told anyone."

Abby pulls me up from our bench and we start to walk home. "Carli's training until 6 today. Have the rest of the day to yourself. Sleep on it. Ok kid?"

You unlock the door to your house. "Thanks Abby."

She nods and jumps in her car, waving at you as she drives away.


	3. Chapter 3

You're tempted.You're tempted to tell Carli that you know. That she'll be okay. The next morning after your talk with Abby, you wake up in a half daze. Now mission find out who the lady is, has changed to Find Hope. You reach over to your bedside table and call Finn.

She's clearly not awake by the time her phone has rung. "What."

"Good morning to you to." You say stiffly.

"Abby is forcing me to work in the garden today."

"That's great. So anyway, do you want to come on an adventure?"  
"I repeat: Abby is forcing me to work in the garden." Finn says.

"You're coming. I'll deal with Abby." Your plan is already spinning in your mind.

"What about Carli?"

"Again, I'll deal with her. Meanwhile, pack a backpack and some money."

You hang up and walk downstairs to see Carli already awake.

"Hi Mom. Finn and I are spending the day in Preston." You lie easily.

"Ok. Be sure to be back by seven."

You head out the door and ride your skateboard three miles to Abby's house.

"Hi Abby." You say, ducking below her elbow and looking around the living room.

"Where's Finn."

"I'm here." Finn says, her hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head.

"Abby, we're going to talk to Hope." You say while re-ducking out the door.

"Uh..What? I told you yesterday. She lives in Seattle. You are not going to Washington."  
You smirk. "Hope's staying in Jameston for a week. It's an hour west of here? She's visiting a friend."

"How do you know this?" Abby asks, still doubting.

"Instagram. We'll be back by four this evening. I promise."

Abby sighs and shakes her head.

"And don't tell Carli!" You call over your shoulder as you and Finn walk to the nearest bus station.

You take the bus for an hour and get off at Rosewood block in Jameston.

Finn drags you over to one of those big map thingys, and you stand there studying it.

"We need to walk...." Finn starts.

"2 blocks eastward, travel up Lanmion Lane and go for another block north. You're really slow at this, aren't you?" You say quickly.

"How did you..." Finn looks sideways at you.

"Shut up. Pay attention to our business."

Finn rolls her eyes and you finally arrive in front of an apartment building. You take the stairs up 3 flights and knock on apartment 386.

Hope answers. "Can I help you?"

Finn glances at you wearily. "You sure this is right."

You stare at Hope with a smile.

"I'm your daughter."


	4. Chapter 4

"I don't have a daughter." Hope says immediately.

You roll you eyes.

"Obviously not like your biological daughter. I'm your adopted daughter."

Hope looks at you again.

"I don't have a daughter."

You sigh.

"Look. Two years ago, you and Carli Lloyd were dating. You wanted to start a family, so you guys planned on adopting a kid. But before that, you guys broke up. The thing you don't know is that Carli had signed the contracts under both of your names before you broke up."

Hope stiffens.

"I'm a mother." She says quickly.

"Give me a minute." Hope disappears into the bathroom and you can hear the tap running.

Finn turns to you.

"Think she believes you?"

"Of course she doesn't.She will."

Hope returns.

"I'm calling the cops."

"Please don't! We're telling the truth! I swear!"

Hope picks up her phone and flips it over in her hand.

"At least let me give you a ride home."

Finn and you have a silent eye contact argument.

"Fine." You finally say.

"And did I get your names?"

"Lia and Finn." You say, gesturing to yourself.

"Adress?"

You hand Hope the address.

.......

No one talks on the car ride back to Mount Laurel until Hope pulls into the parking lot.

"This isn't a house." Hope says dulley.

"I know. It's a gym." It's not just any gym. Its Carli's gym. And there's Carli, sitting on the bench in workout clothes, reading a book.

Hope doesn't recognize Carli, you can tell, in her sunglasses and her nose hidden in her novel.

Carli glances up as you approach.

"Hey kiddo."

The moment she speaks, Hope knows. She stiffens up immediately and her eyes lock with her ex girlfriend.

Carli looks at Hope for a moment, then turns her gaze to you.

"You're grounded."

......

Solitary confinement is not as bad as you thought. You stay in the house for the week, only leaving for school and soccer. You're allowed on your phone, but no television or video games. It sucks, you know.

It's after school on Friday when you finally get a visitor. Abby and Finn.

"How bad did you get it?" Finn asks, leaning over the couch you're sitting on.

"Grounded." You say, not breaking your gaze from the freedom you're trying to create in the empty patch of air.

"Too bad. I didn't get anything."

Abby comes and sits next to you on the couch.

"Want to go for a walk?" She asks.

"I'm grounded."

"I will personally take the blame for forcing you to join me on a leisurely stroll."

You go with Abby.

Instead of a walk, Abby drives you to a café.

"What are we doing here?" You ask.

"Meeting Hope."

You sigh.

Hope is sitting at a table of three.

You and Abby sit down across from her.

"You got me grounded." You say shortly.

Abby rests her hand on your head.

"Give it a break kiddo."

"Why are we here." Hope says it as a demand rather than a question.

"Ok." Abby begins. "I have a kid. Named Finn."

Hope raises and eyebrow.

"Blondie's yours?"

Abby shakes her head softly.

"Always gotta be a nickname, doesn't there. And Lia's Carli's kid."

Abby takes a sip of water.

"And yours too." She adds softly.

"How come I never knew?"

You snort."You broke up with my mother."

"Is the point of this to get us back together?"

You look at Abby."I don't think there is a point. But, It can be, if you want."

Hope smiles.

"We're not getting back together."

Abby smirks.

"What?" Hope asks her.

"Nothing. Nothing."  
We both look at her.

"Look. Hope, you need to at least try to get back together. For Lia. You are her legal guardian."

"Can't do that." Hope gets up and leaves.

Abby turns to you.

"That was successful."

"No it wasn't." You say seriously. "But it will be."

Abby rolls her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

You wake up the next morning with your throat raw and hoarse. Stumbling, you head downstairs already dressed for school. Carli who is silently sipping a steaming mug of coffee, immediately takes in your appearance. Your brown hair is pulled back into a messy bun that defines your ghostly features. Your whole body is slightly shiverish and gives the occasional shudder. Carli places her hand on your warm forehead and her brow creases with worry. "You are staying home today." Carli says. You sigh. "But I have my physics exam!" It's pointless arguing with Carli though, and you drag yourself back up to bed.

Carli needs to train. She tells you that early in the morning. "Gina will be here to watch you." Gina is your sitter. She basically lives at your house, based on the amount of time Carli spends with the team. The door swings open as soon as Carli's left and she walks in. Gina's bright blue hair is tied back messily at the nape of her neck. Her nose ring seems glintier then normal. She must of shined it. "Hiya kiddo!" Gina says loudly. You flinch.

By midday you're feeling worse then ever. Your fever must of reached a hundred and three by now and every breath you take feels like a hundred pounds of iron weighing on your chest. You fade in and out of consciousness, blinded to your surroundings.The blurry figure of Gina moves throughout your room, gently pressing a cool washcloth against your head.

Later in the day Finn comes bearing dreaded homework. She kisses you gently on the forehead and slips under the covers next to you. "Finn....You'll get sick too." You moan softly. "Do you think I care?" You quickly fall asleep and are lost in a dreamless state between life and death until you awaken a few hours later. You see a woman's face looming over your sweaty face. Her features are unrecognizable until she backs away and you eyes can focus. It's Hope.  
"What are you doing here?" You whisper hoarsely. "Making sure you're okay."

"Does it look like I'm okay?" You ask, rolling your eyes. She smiles. "Does my mom know you're here?" Her smile turns into a grimace as you both hear Carli's car pull into the driveway. "She'll probably ground me again." You say quietly. Hope shakes her head. "I won't let her do that." A rush of air makes you both turn your heads. "What's she doing here?" Carli asks you in a panicky voice. "Checking on my daughter." Hope replies. They glare at each other. "Hey, I don't mean to break up this glarefest, but I almost died today." You say. They ignore you. "No one? Fine." You huff, rolling over in the bed. "Hi." Carli says, not taking her eyes off Hope. She clears her throat loudly. "Let's start again." Hope holds out her hand and Carli shakes it. "This is good, this is good. Nobody's died yet." Again, they ignore you. "Are you free tonight?" Hope asks her. Carli nods her head. "Yes."

"Do you want to go to dinner? As friends I mean. Not like a date." Hope asks awkwardly. Carli smiles. "I'd like a not date."

"You guys are so lame." You say, looking at the ceiling. They walk out of the room arm in arm.


	6. Chapter 6

You're lying on your bed when Finn texts you saying "Call Me". You sign and irritability punch in her number. "Why do you text me to call you? Why don't you just call me?" You say as soon as she picks ups on the first ring. "Does it matter?"

"Yes." You say firmly. "Wrong answer." Her smile is almost audible through the phone. "Oh, and keep the conversation appropriate please. Gina just walked in." You say quietly. "I was planning on doing that." Finn laughs. You and her talk for a while, covering everything from Gina's new shade of blue to your break up with Emma. The conversation finally lands on the team. " When are we going to see a match?" Finn asks. "Calm down Finn. It's only game one of the World Cup. I'm sure we'll see the next few."

"But why haven't they called us?" You click the phone off and rest your cheek against the cool pillow.

At five o'clock Finn trots into your room and pulls you out of bed. "Come on Lia!" She says, tugging at your arm. "We're going somewhere!"

"No kidding!" You groan mercifully as you let her pull you out of the house. Eventually, you end up on the rooftop garden of the richest apartment building in town. Your jaw drops as you look around. The fences that gracefully line the edges are laced with golden lights and candles. A bouquet of flowers sits next to a boom box. Finn guides you over to the boom box and hits play. She rests her hands on your waist and leads you in a waltz. You feel overjoyed and light hearted as you dance across the setting sun's silhouette.Finn ends with a bow, but instead of letting go, she pulls you closer.

"Lia. Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." You say with a grin. Finn smirks. "Will you go to the prom with me?"

"No!" You say. Finn looks at you confused. "What?"

"That's it? You just blurt it out? I need more romance people."

Finn walks a few feet away and turns around. "Go ahead."

She walks toward you and gets down on one knee, offering you a rose. "Lia Rénee Lloyd. I have been your best friend for nine years. In those nine years, I have fallen in love with you. At first, I tried to push my feelings away, saying that I couldn't date my best friend. But as we got older, my feelings for you got stronger, and now I realize they are true. Will you now go to the prom with me?"

You giggle. "Awww. That was sweet and cheesy at the same time. But the answer's yes."

. .. .. .

You lay in bed, giddy with joy as you receive an incoming call from Carli. "Hey Mom." You say. "Hey." Carli says. "I have something to tell you."

"I was going to say the same thing. You go first."

"Um..." Carli starts, sounding a little unsure of herself. "How would you feel if I told you I was dating someone."

"Only if it's Hope." You say. The other end erupts with cheers. You jump and nearly send the phone flying across the room.

"Oh my god."

"Sorry Lia. You're on speaker. The whole team is listening. Your turn."

Oh god. "I feel so pressured right now. Ok.. Um.. I'm just gonna repeat what you said. I'm dating someone."

"Is it Finn?" Carli laughs.

"Maybe."

. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .

A Week later.....

You and Finn walk along the lapping waves hand in hand, when a little girl approaches you. "Uh. Can I help you?" You ask.She doesn't respond but wraps her stick like arms around your waist. You look up to where Hope and Carli are sitting with a raised eyebrow. They exchange a glance and burst out laughing. "Oh Lia. We forgot to tell you." Hope says with a smile. "This is Ariah. She's your adopted sister."

..... ................. ............................... ..................

Hope's P.O.V

Carli and I stand against a tree, lazily watching Lia. She, Ariah, and Finn run and splash each other in the ocean, their laughs echoing through the beach. I glance at Carli who is staring at me. "Look at them." She says. I do. I see how happy they look. I kiss my girlfriend lightly on the cheek. "I guess some people in this world do have happy endings."

"Like you?" She asks.

"Like me."


	7. PREQUEL

"Come on Hope!" I shout at my girlfriend. "Oh, grow up Carli. I can't believe you would embarrass me like that!" Hope says. "I...I didn't mean to." I plead. "I'm out of here." Hope grabs her suitcase and starts gathering her belongings. "Hope, don't leave." I tell her softly. She pauses and kisses me on the lips, hovering with her eyes closed when shes done, as if suddenly unsure of her decision. "Goodbye Carli." Hope says, closing the door behind her with her shoulder. The next day I get a phone call. Thinking it's Hope, I pick up and hold my breath. "Ms.Lloyd?" An older woman's voice asks. My heart sinks. "Hi, can I help you?" "Yes, this is Michelle Stevenson from New Jersey Central orphanage. I'm calling to say that your form has been selected." "Wait. The adoption form that we- I sent out a week ago? I can adopt someone?" I ask. "Yes." I hang up and get in my car. I pull into the parking lot 45 minutes later and bang on the orphanage door. A young woman answers. "Hello! My name is Sue, can I help you?" "My name is Carli Lloyd and I'm here to adopt." "Well than. Come on in." Sue guides me to a court yard where I see about twenty kids, all ranging from ages 5 to twenty, playing around. I look over them, but none catch my attention. I'm almost about to leave when I see a girl sitting under a tree. She has dark, wavy, brown hair to her waist and gleaming blue eyes. She wears a navy blue coast guard sweatshirt and ripped up black jeans. I turn Sue. "Who's that?" I ask, pointing. She laughs. "That's Lia. She's 13." "Can I talk to her?" I ask. She laughs again until she notices my serious expression. "You're serious." I nod. She beckons the girl over and leaves. Lia is a few inches shorter then me. "Hey." I say. "Hey." Lia's voice is light and gentle, not at all what I was expecting based on her appearance. "I'm Carli. Can you tell me about yourself?" "I'm 13. I play soccer and I do ballet. I like singing and I'm gay. I guess that's it." I smile. "I just adopted you." I sit at my desk a week later faced with seven adoption papers. I flip through them to the third and start filling it out with a small smile. Legal Parental Information: Names: carli anne lloyd hope amelia solo


End file.
